it’s a celebration! today is the one year anniversary of this little blog.
i realize this isn’t a celebration for anyone but me (and perhaps jason) but we thought we’d give you a quick recap of the top 10 things we’ve made this year.
jason and i had a hard time agreeing on the top 10, so we’ll give you both our lists (mine, tomorrow). and please, excuse the photos from the earlier days, they are bad. i know. i’m working on remaking and rephotographing them. but i promise, all the dishes on this list are delicious.
top 10 main dishes
10. parmesan turkey meatballs with green beans – the panko crumbs and parmesan give these meatballs a lightness you don’t usually get. they’re flavorful, easy to make, reheat well, and are good with any green vegetable.
9. carrot gnocchi with butter sage sauce – admittedly, these are a little fussy to make. but if you want a different take on your traditional potato gnocchi, this is your best bet.
8. gnocchi in a tomato sauce – and when you want your more typical potato dumpling, then here you go. no joke, this is the lightest and most fluffy potato dumpling recipe i’ve ever made.
7. swiss chard falafel and villager salad – swiss chard is the main ingredient in this falafel dish, which is not traditional, i know, but makes for an interesting treat.
6. afghan dumplings with lamb kofta and yogurt sauce – again with the dumplings! the meat in this case is kept on the outside while the inside of the dumplings is seasoned scallions. these take a little bit of time to put together, but they are so worth it in the end.
5. pelmeni – no joke, dumpling number four. pelmeni are a russian classic and a really good way to spend a cold winter night.
4. garlic mustard glazed venison kabobs – it’s the marinade that is the star of the show here, and can be used really on any meat or poultry.
3. zucchini fritters – so much goodness in these fritters, especially when topped with some lemon garlic sour cream. just remember: you really have to get the moisture out of the shredded zucchini before putting together the fritters.
2. lentil cakes tikka masala – the combination of flavors here is unreal, and i would gladly serve this dish to any guest.
1. braised moroccan chicken with couscous – it’s strange to think that a chicken dish could be the number one, but it really is. the sauce in this dish is so delicious that jason and i typically fight over licking the pans clean. you’ll know it’s worth the work as soon as you smell the flavors blending together. zero chance of disappointment.
and some winners from some other categories (there’s not yet enough in the archives to pick a top 10, so we’ll stick with a sinlge winner for each).
best appetizer: whipped feta and roasted tomato crostini – roasting tomatoes is slow, i know, but if you can tolerate having the oven on for three hours in the summer, i recommend this dish, especially if you’re on your way to a picnic.
best soup: french onion soup – sometimes it’s the classics that win. nothing out of the ordinary, just lots of caramelized onions and some good cheese.
best breakfast: horseradish hash browns with sunny side up egg – what better way is there to wake up in the morning than a little horseradish?
best dessert: butter pecan ice cream – the ice cream maker we got as a wedding gift has gone to good use. this butter pecan ice cream is decadent and painfully bad for you. but that’s what makes it good, so deal with it.
best home project: new railings – it’s sad that we have to leave these behind in this house as we move onto our new home. they’re just so good looking and sturdy.
best of the other stuff: recreating our parents’ photos from the 70s for our wedding – such a hit and so fun to do.
Thanks, Vicky! This is a great list. Whipped feta and roasted tomato crostini is something I have made now half a dozen times, mostly for my family, but also for parties. Damn those tomatoes are worth it :)
writes Spiro Bolos[…] i posted jason’s top ten things we’ve made in the last year. today, it’s my turn. while we agree on several […]
writes one year blog anniversary and my top ten - things i made today[…] top ten dishes we made that year. Because we didn’t agree, we split this into two posts, a Jason version and a Vicky version. This year is no different. But because the volume of posts has increased […]
writes Two Year Anniversary and Jason's Best Of Choices - Things I Made Today[…] I only posted a few times a month, we used to do a breakdown of the top 10 (here’s mine and Jason’s from year one). But since the volume is so high these past two years, we’ve started to break […]
writes Three Year Anniversary and Jason's Best Of Choices - Things I Made Today